Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 March (HL7064), what was the actual number of HS2 trains of both sizes, and for Phases 1 and 2, used in the Rolling Stock Strategy previous to the one currently in the process of completion.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HS2 Ltd are in the process of completing their Rolling Stock Strategy which will contain greater detail on the fleet sizes expected to be procured. Our current assumption is outlined below. Phase 1Phase 2TotalClassic Compatible455095Captive165470Total61104165

Cycling

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to require cyclists using the public highway to carry photo identification.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have no plans to make cyclists carry photographic or other forms of identification. The police already have sufficient powers if they are unsure of a person’s identity. There are other users of the highway, for instance pedestrians and horse riders who are also not required to carry personal identification, or have other forms of identification, e.g. registration numbers displayed. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 sets out the general powers available to the police, including in circumstances when an individual’s identity needs to be established, or when false identity information has been provided. Similarly, powers exist under Section 168 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, where the person is suspected of having committed an offence under Sections 28 (Dangerous Cycling) and 29 (Careless Cycling) of the same Act. The application of any such powers is an operational matter for the police.

International Civil Aviation Organisation Assembly

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will be the lead UK representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation Assembly in Montreal between 27 September and 7 October.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has not yet nominated its delegation for the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, but will do so in the coming months. In the past the UK’s Chief Delegate has been the Director General of Civil Aviation.

Home Office

British Nationality: Montserrat

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation has taken place, or is planned, with the governments of British Overseas Territories, specifically Montserrat, to make provision for those born before 1 July 2006 to fathers not married to their mothers to register as full British Citizens, as provided under section 65 of the Immigration Act 2014.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: A forthcoming review of British nationality law will look at what does and does not work in the current system, and how citizenship should be obtained in the future. As part of that review, we will consult with the overseas territories.

Free Movement of People

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with reference to their pamphlet entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK and in the light of their statement that "we will keep our own border controls", whether citizens of other EU member states remain free to enter the UK, and if so, how they reconcile that fact with that statement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is not part of the Schengen border-free zone – we control our own borders which gives us the right to check everyone, including EU nationals, arriving from continental Europe.Free movement is not an unrestricted right. Where an EEA national poses a threat, they can and will be refused entry or deported from the UK. The UK’s settlement with the EU will strengthen our ability to protect the UK public from those who pose a threat. We have refused entry to over 6500 EEA nationals at the UK border since 2010.

Weapons: Smuggling

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of weapons smuggled into the UK from Albania, Bosnia and Serbia.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Criminals from a wide range of countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, attempt to smuggle weapons into the UK and other EU countries illegally.Border Force works with partners, including law enforcement agencies from the UK and overseas, to disrupt the increasingly sophisticated attempts to smuggle prohibited goods into the UK. Border Force uses intelligence generated from a wide variety of sources and state of the art technology to seize weapons and other prohibited goods at ports of entry across the country.

Anti-corruption Summit

Lord Howarth of Newport: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to discuss the Tier 1 visa system at the anti-corruption summit to be held in London in May.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Anti-Corruption Summit, to be held on 12 May, will convene global leaders from government, business and civil society to discuss a wide range of issues relating to corruption. The agenda for the Summit is being finalised.

Commonwealth: Visas

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why journalists from some Commonwealth countries were denied visas to attend the recent Commonwealth Journalists Association conference in London, and what assessment they have made of whether those decisions are compatible with the Foreign Office's commitment to promote human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty's Government is committed to promoting efforts to supporting human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth and beyond. We believe that it is important for all Commonwealth members to live up to the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance.The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules. Decision makers will take account of an applicant’s personal and financial circumstances as well as the prevailing country situation.

Refugees: Syria

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the process of resettling 20,000 refugees by 2020 fulfils the criteria of the UNHCR Integration Programme outlined in its 2013 report The Integration of Resettled Refugees, including provisions for pre-departure information, initial reception, orientation and documentation, social support, employment support, language training, education, healthcare, housing and income support.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has worked closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on both the development and delivery of its Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.Through the International Organisation for Migration the UK offers cultural orientation pre-departure to refugees being resettled to the UK. Upon arrival, local authorities are funded to provide refugees with a 12 month support package tailored to their individual needs which includes; accommodation, support in addressing any medical and social care needs, integration assistance and English language tuition.

Leader of the House of Lords

Statutory Instruments

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Leader of the House, further to her Written Answer on 17 February (HL5966), how many statutory instruments have now been laid before Parliament in the 2015–16 session to date.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: As of 21 April, 706 UK statutory instruments had been laid before the House of Commons/Parliament in the 2015-16 session. For completeness, the numbers of statutory instruments laid in previous sessions since 1997 are detailed below: 1997-98: 18561998-99: 14791999-00: 14562000-01: 8682001-02: 17882002-03: 14742003-04: 12812004-05: 7932005-06: 18852006-07: 13612007-08: 13192008-09: 13022009-10: 8232010-12: 18092012-13: 9642013-14: 11732014-15: 13782015-16: 706 (so far in this session)

Delegated Legislation: Government Defeats

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Leader of the House how many government defeats there have been on delegated legislation in the House of Lords, (1) in total, and (2) in each Session, since 1950.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Since 1950, there have been 35 Government defeats on motions relating to delegated legislation in the House of Lords. There have been five such defeats in this session to date - a fifth of the total over the last 65 years. The number of government defeats on motions relating to delegated legislation since 1950, broken down by session, is detailed below: SessionTotalSessionTotalSessionTotal1950 1972-73 1994-95 1950-51 1973-74 1995-9611951-52 1974 1996-97 1952-53 1974-75 1997-9811953-54 1975-76 1998-99 1954-55 1976-77 1999-0021955-56 1977-7822000-01 1956-57 1978-79 2001-02 1957-58 1979-80 2002-0341958-59 1980-81 2003-04 1959-60 1981-82 2004-0511960-61 1982-83 2005-0611961-62 1983-8412006-0721962-63 1984-8512007-08 1963-64 1985-86 2008-0921964-65 1986-87 2009-1041965-66 1987-88 2010-12 1966-67 1988-89 2012-1341967-6811989-90 2013-14 1968-69 1990-91 2014-15 1969-70 1991-92 2015-651970-71 1992-933  1971-72 1993-94 TOTAL35

Government Defeats

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Leader of the House, further to her Written Answer on 16 November 2015 (HL3174), what percentage of House of Lords divisions resulted in Government defeats in (1) the 1997–2001 Parliament, and (2) the current Parliament.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The rate of defeats in the present Parliament is more than twice that of the 1997-2001 Parliament: the Government were defeated in 22% of divisions in that Parliament, compared to 49% in the present one (up to Thursday 21 April). These figures are based on statistics compiled by the Journal Office.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask the Leader of the House whether she will encourage Government ministers to provide full answers to Written Questions from members of the House rather than providing references to third-party sources.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: As Leader of the House, I am responsible for encouraging departments to give timely answers to Questions for Written Answer (QWAs), a duty I take very seriously. The House has set out clearly (most recently in agreeing the Procedure Committee’s 5th Report on the 2014-5 Session) that all answers to QWAs should be complete and comprehensible, and as such should not rely on references to external documents or webpages. I will continue to make this guidance clear to Ministers. Whilst it is for individual Ministers to account to the House for the content of the answers they provide - with Ministers providing personally signed answers to members as part of this direct accountability - any member is welcome to inform me of any particular concerns about a response they have received.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Radio

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the freedom to receive information inside North Korea, and (2) the number of South Korean and US radio broadcasters that tailor and transmit programming to North Korean citizens.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea found that North Korean citizens are denied the right to access information from independent sources and all media is heavily censored. There are a number of US and South Korean broadcasters that are currently transmitting programming into North Korea, or have recently, including Voice of America and Korean Broadcasting System Korea Global Radio.

North Korea: Radio

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether North Korean citizens are given disproportionately harsh punishments for listening to foreign radio broadcasts than for other comparable offences.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea releases no reliable information about prosecution of offences, so it is hard to make a judgement on the proportionality of punishments imposed for listening to foreign radio broadcasts.

United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to fulfil their commitment in the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review to regard UN Peacekeeping as one of its most important roles.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As set out in the Strategic Security and Defence Review, the UK attaches great importance to UN Peace Operations. The Government is committed to working with partners to further strengthen the UN’s capability to support global stability and end conflict. In the Security Council, we champion reforms that increases the efficiency and impact of UN engagement on conflict prevention and mediation, peace building and human rights.We are working with the UN to finalise the new military deployments announced by the Prime Minister in September 2015. The UK will deploy up to 70 personnel to UN peace operations in Somalia, and 250-300 to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. We will continue to identify and offer policing expertise where UK skills match UN missions’ requirements with the objective of steadily increasing the number of officers the UK deploys. We will also continue to support British candidates for senior positions in the UN, and deploy civilian staff with relevant expertise to key roles in UN missions and at UN headquarters.The UK will be hosting an international conference on UN peacekeeping which is part of a sustained effort to increase the capabilities available to UN peacekeeping. The Government is also in the process of forming a cross-Whitehall joint UN Peacekeeping Policy Unit to bring further focus to our efforts on peacekeeping.

Sudan: Females

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the sexual violence, harassment, threats and other forms of abuse against Sudanese women’s rights defenders; and what assessment they have made of what more could be done to end the range of abuses experienced including sexual violence.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: All instances of sexual violence, harassment or abuse against women are deeply concerning, but the recent Human Rights Watch report sets out a number of disturbing instances of harassment and abuse of female human rights defenders. The UK will continue to press the Government of Sudan to take action on sexual and gender-based violence. We are also funding a number of projects, including training for lawyers taking on court cases relating to public order laws and legal redress to victims of sexual violence. We assess that the Government of Sudan needs to take action on a number of fronts to end such abuses, including further revising the Criminal Act and other laws pertinent to the prosecution of sexual offences.

Sudan: Females

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UN and AU rapporteurs on human rights defenders about doing more to ensure that women activists in Sudan are protected, and addressing repression and abuse of such activists.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have consistently raised the need to protect human rights defenders at the UN Human Rights Council, most recently in March 2016. In addition, we are also providing project support in Sudan. This includes efforts to help journalists draw attention to social justice issues, including gender-based violence, and events to help inspire young women to become women’s rights activists.

Burma: Rohingya

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the access to fundamental rights of the Rohingya in Burma, and of adherence to international law in Burma, including during Burmese Army attacks on Shan and Kachin states.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We remain deeply concerned at the lack of fundamental human rights affecting the Rohingya in Rakhine State. It is also clear that violations and abuses continue to occur in conflict affected areas of Kachin and Northern Shan. The recent increase in fighting there is a setback to the gains made in the peace process during 2015. We call on all parties to stop fighting and engage in dialogue towards a truly nationwide ceasefire and a lasting political solution.Addressing the problems of Rakhine, particularly the desperate situation of the Rohingya community, and reinvigorating the peace process are two of the most urgent and serious challenges facing the new government. We will continue to support and encourage the National League for Democracy-led government in making progress on these.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, they intend to advise UK citizens living in EU member states to take citizenship in their country of residence in order to protect their legal rights.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government's view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Should the UK choose to stay in the EU, British citizens will be able to work, live and retire abroad as they do now. UK citizens and citizens from other Member States living in the UK get a range of rights from our membership of the EU. If the UK were to leave the EU, all of these rights would have to be covered in a successor arrangement. If we left the EU without agreeing what would happen to these rights, it would at the least bring them into serious question, creating difficulty for UK citizens who relied on them.

Attorney General

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken by the Crown Prosecution Service following the publication of the Panama Papers.

Lord Keen of Elie: The Government has announced plans to create a cross-agency taskforce to investigate all evidence of illegality that has emerged from the so called “Panama Papers” revelations. The Government will take whatever action is necessary after the work of the taskforce has been completed.The Crown Prosecution Service will advise on any criminal investigations commenced by HMRC, the police or the National Crime Agency and will bring criminal proceedings if cases pass the evidential and public interest stages of the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Prosecutions

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to the recent news that one in eight cases at Crown Court are not proceeded with by the Crown Prosecution Service, even though the defendants have been formally charged.

Lord Keen of Elie: All cases are kept under constant review as they progress through the criminal justice system. If new evidence comes to light, a witness decides to no longer support a prosecution or a co-defendant pleads guilty to the offence, the CPS will then review the case. If there is no longer sufficient evidence or if it is no longer in the public interest, the CPS will stop a prosecution.The Transforming Summary Justice (TSJ) and Better Case Management (BCM) initiatives, introduced nationally, are recent programmes which will have a material and positive impact on both levels and timing of discontinuance. These include earlier, pre-first magistrates’ hearing case review by prosecutors; an emphasis on early defence engagement; listing periods that support the time required to prepare the case; and improved processes to gather and serve evidential material and disclosure prior to court hearings.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices: Degrees

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether students with disabilities taking the proposed new Degree Apprenticeships will have access to the support of the Disabled Students Allowance in the same way as any student undertaking a higher education qualification at any institute of higher education.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Apprenticeships are jobs with training. As an apprentice is paid by their employer, they cannot access the student support package, which includes the Disabled Students Allowance.Apprentices with disabilities can apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace. Training providers can use this to support the apprentice’s learning. Adjustments will depend on the individual and the qualification, but may include extra time, assistive technology, use of a scribe etc.Under the Equality Act (2010), employers and training providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their employees and students. These same duties apply for apprentices, including degree apprentices.

Apprentices: Degrees

Lord Addington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any college or institution involved in the teaching of Degree Apprenticeships will have the same duty to provide reasonable adjustments and support to any candidate with a disability as a conventional university or institute of higher education.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Yes. The training for Degree Apprenticeships will be provided by many of the same universities as traditional degrees.Under the Equality Act (2010), all employers and training providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their employees and students. These same duties apply for apprentices, including degree apprentices in exactly the same way.

Retail Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 0.4 per cent fall in February in the volume of goods sold in UK shops.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Individual month on month changes can be volatile. Although the latest ONS Retail Sales Index reports a fall of 0.4 per cent in the volume of goods sold on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, it follows on from a strong monthly rise in January (2.3 per cent). It is also a 3.8 per cent increase on February of last year.This monthly decline in sales volumes was seen across all the headline categories of retail (with the exception of household goods stores). However, for almost all categories the decline was substantially smaller than the growth seen in the previous month.The latest Retail Sales Index publication and supplementary data is attached and can be found here:-https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/february2016



Retail Sales Index January - February 2016
(PDF Document, 767.65 KB)

Productivity

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the study of attitudes to work by the Smith Institute that more than two-thirds of British workers are spending longer at their workplace for little or no gain in productivity.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Smith Institute survey of trade union members asked whether respondents thought they were working “harder” and whether they were more productive than two years ago. Given the ambiguity over the term “working harder” and the unrepresentative sample used, caution should be drawn on the relationship between hours worked and productivity.However, ONS data indicate that between 2010 and 2015 the total number of hours worked per week in the UK economy has increased by 8.4%1. The vast majority of the increase, around 80%, came from higher employment. While the remainder did come from increased average hours this in part reflects a reduction in the share of part-time work.It has been this significant increase in the number of people employed that has driven growth in the UK economy in recent years. The challenge now is to ensure the UK continues to grow through rising productivity. The government’s ‘Fixing the Foundations’ productivity plan, sets out an ambitious vision and the pro-productivity agenda designed to meet this challenge. Productivity, measured as output per hour worked, increased by 1.0% in 2015 as a whole – the largest annual increase since 2011.References1. ONS UK Labour Market (March 2016): Actual weekly hours worked (seasonally adjusted)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/actualweeklyhoursworkedseasonallyadjustedhour01sa



ONS UK Labour Market March 2016 weekly hours
(Excel SpreadSheet, 226 KB)

Training: Finance

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many training providers in receipt of Skills Funding Agency (SFA) funding ceased trading in (1) 2011–12, (2) 2012–13, and (3) 2013–14; how much funding those providers had received from the SFA in the three years prior to their ceasing to trade; and how many of them were further education colleges.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Skills Funding Agency does not hold not information on providers which have ceased trading.

Training: Fraud

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many training providers were investigated for fraud or misappropriation of Skills Funding Agency funding during (1) 2011–12, (2) 2012–13, and (3) 2013–14; in how many cases there was a case to answer; and in those cases where findings of fraud or misappropriation were confirmed, which training providers were concerned.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Investigations will result either in no funding issues being identified or the identification of funds for recovery. Funds identified for recovery may have been mis-claimed in error or may be the result of potential fraudulent actions. The Skills Funding Agency is not a prosecuting authority so where an investigation indicates potential fraud the case is referred to the police. Fraud is not confirmed unless there is a successful criminal prosecution. The table below shows the number of cases investigated, the number of cases where funds were identified for recovery (whether as a result of error or potential fraud), the number of cases referred to the police, the number of cases resulting in charges being brought and the outcome of prosecutions in each of the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14. Note that where a case is referred to the police it may take a significant period (up to several years) for charges to be brought. Financial Year2011-122012-132013-14No. of live investigations during the year433437No. of cases where funds were identified for recovery2069No. of cases referred to the police601No. of cases where charges brought4-0Outcome of prosecutions1 successful 2 unsuccessful 1 ongoing--  The successful prosecution as a result of an investigation in 2011-12 was of David Peters who worked as an assessor for Safetycor Ltd, a subcontractor to Exeter College and Wolverhampton College.

Overseas Trade: Djibouti

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the trade and other economic links between the UK and Djibouti.

Lord Price: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics report the value of UK trade in goods with Djibouti. In 2015 the UK exported £11.9 million of goods to Djibouti, in the same year the UK imported £1.4 million of goods from Djibouti.Data on the value of trade in services and other types of economic transaction between the UK and Djibouti is not available.

Department for International Development

St Helena: Shipping

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who owns the RMS St Helena, and what financial support they have provided to operate the service between Cape Town and St Helena over the last three years.

Baroness Verma: The RMS St Helena is owned by St Helena Line, which is itself wholly owned by the St Helena Government. Her Majesty’s Government provided £3,199,382 of support to operate the service in 2013/14; £2,272,726 in 2014/15; and £619,751in 2015/16.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK aid to Palestine is not given, directly or indirectly,to the families of suicide bombers or to convicted prisoners.

Baroness Verma: UK aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes. Our financial assistance to the PA is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

Zimbabwe: Droughts

Lord St John of Bletso: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to provide aid to assist in alleviating the impact of the current drought in Zimbabwe.

Baroness Verma: The UK was one of the first to respond widespread food insecurity resulting from a poor 2015 harvest and the emerging El Niño. Since September 2015, we have been supporting over 350,000 people in the worst affected areas, through cash transfers, in a £15m programme ending in July 2016.An estimated 2.8 million people currently face food insecurity in Zimbabwe, so the UK is also helping to build their longer term resilience to future droughts. Our programmes provide training to smallholder farmers strengthening their ability to cope with the effects of climate change; and supporting them to grow drought resistant crops - such as ground nuts, sesame and mung bean for sale to the market.

Darfur: Internally Displaced People

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence that following the clashes between rebel and government forces in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur the number of civilians who have fled the fighting has led to the displacement of 130,000 people.

Baroness Verma: Whilst exact displacement figures from Jebel Marra are difficult to establish due to access restrictions and challenges with registration, we regard the UN figure of approximately 130,000 people displaced as the best possible estimate. This is of course deeply troubling, and we have raised our concerns with the Government of Sudan. We continue to press both bilaterally and at the UN Security Council for full humanitarian access to be granted to the affected areas.

Department for Education

Children: Computers

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the BBC's proposal to provide every child in Year 7 with the micro:bit codeable computer.

Lord Nash: The Government welcomes this initiative from the BBC that will provide every child in year 7 with a free micro:bit codeable computer.The national curriculum in computing, which was introduced in 2014, includes coding at all key stages. At primary school pupils are taught about algorithms and how to design and write codes to accomplish specific goals, using sequencing, selection and repetition. This is extended at secondary school where pupils are taught to use at least two coding languages to solve a variety of computational problems.We want every student to have the opportunity actively to create new technology products. Our reformed programme of study for computing in the national curriculum emphasises the academic discipline of computer science. Through studying topics such as computational logic, algorithms and data representation, pupils are obtaining insight into how the digital technologies that they use every day work and understand how these technology products result from rational design processes.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Suicide

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent increases in the number of non-natural deaths in prisons; and what plans they have to improve mental health support for those in prison who are at risk of suicide.

Lord Faulks: Every death in custody is a tragedy. We are taking forward a wide range of work to reduce violence and the use of drugs, including new psychoactive substances, in prisons and to address the levels of suicide and self-harm. All deaths in prison custody are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), and a Coroner’s inquest. We are committed to learning from these investigations to inform the approach of both health and custodial services in identifying and supporting prisoners at risk. All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harming themselves. The Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has recently reviewed compliance with the ACCT process and is working to implement the recommendations, which include improvements to multi-disciplinary working between prison and clinical mental health staff. NHS England is implementing new prison clinical information systems which will improve the availability of clinical information to staff in prisons from the early days in custody. In addition, the government has initiated a cross departmental Mental Health Taskforce, tasked with developing integrated mental health service pathways in the least restrictive settings and aimed at providing support and intervention to those in need of help at the earliest opportunity.

Prisons: Employment

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hours of purposeful activity were recorded on average by prisoners in each month in each of the last five years.

Lord Faulks: Purposeful activity and time unlocked were two of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) performance indicators of safety and decency in prisons up to 2011/12. The indicators were discontinued at the start of 2012/13.  Average Hours of Purposeful Activity per Prisoner per WeekApril 2010 to March 2012MonthAverage Hours of Purposeful Activity per Prisoner per Week   April 201024.3   May 201024.2   June 201024.9   July 201024.9   August 201024.4   September 201025.0   October 201025.1   November 201024.7   December 201023.1   January 201125.1   February 201125.2   March 201125.5   April 201123.9   May 201124.7   June 201125.4   July 201125.5   August 201124.5   September 201125.1   October 201125.0   November 201125.0   December 201123.1   January 201224.4   February 201224.7   March 201224.9Figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Offenders

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff were employed in an offender management role in each year since 2010.

Lord Faulks: The National Offender Management Service delivers offender management services through both the National Probation Service (NPS) and Public Sector Prisons (PSP). Information on the numbers employed since 2010 is given below. On the 1 June 2014, the probation delivery model changed with the 35 Probation Trusts being dissolved and the inception of a new National Probation Service (NPS) within NOMS plus the creation of 21 new privately owned Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). As a result of the changes the NPS directly manages offenders who pose the highest risk in both custody and community with the remainder of offenders in the community being managed by the CRCs. Full Time Equivalent Staff Employed in Offender Management Roles in Probation Areas/Trusts 2010 to 2014 DateProbation Areas / Trusts31-Mar-101-31-Mar-119,58031-Mar-129,27031-Mar-1329,90031-Mar-149,660 In March 2010 Probation staffing data was published at an aggregated level as those by function (of which, Offender Management is one of them) were not published as they were considered unreliable due to the change, at that time, in the way probation staffing data was collected. In July 2012 the way that probation staffing data was collected changed. From that date only staff employed and funded by the Probation Trusts were included. This change did not have a significant impact on the Offender Management function and therefore the figures presented in the table are largely comparable over the period.   Staff Employed in Offender Management Roles in National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), 31 March and 31 December 2015 DateNPSCRCs331-Mar-15--31-Dec-154,860- 3. CRCs became private companies in February 2015 and are therefore responsible for the management of their own staffing levels. However, information on the staffing of CRCs was collected until they transferred to the private sector. At 31 December 2014 there was a full-time equivalent of 4,810 staff working within the Offender Management function in CRCs. Public Sector Prison Service Staff Employed in Offender Management, 2014 to 20154 DatePublic Sector Prisons431-Mar-141,77031-Mar-151,62031-Dec-151,600 Prior to 2014 Public Sector Prison Service staff working on offender management were not identified on HR records. Figures include all staff identified as working in the offender management function, including administrative support. Note to All Tables:All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Facilities

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 23 March (HL7048) about the change of use of the Peers' TV Room, what happened to the armchairs that used to be in that room.

Lord Laming: The chairs are in existing storage facilities.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Finance

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103 and HL6982),whether they have received any representations from non-executive members of any Service Boards about rebalancing funds between the fighting environments.

Earl Howe: Non-executive members of Service Boards are appointed to advise, challenge and support the board in carrying out its responsibilities. They are able to offer their views on any topics discussed at board meetings.

Armed Forces: Finance

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further tothe Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL6982), how much extra money has been added to the budgets of (1) the First Sea Lord, (2) the Chief of the General Staff, and (3) the Chief of the Air Staff,in (a) 2016–17 and (b) 2017–18.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 23 March 2016 to Question HL6982.



QnA extract on Armed Forces Finances
(Word Document, 15.98 KB)

Warships

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further tothe Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7168),whether they will now state whether there will be more or fewer Royal Navy ships in commission by 2025 than the 57 currently.

Earl Howe: On current planning assumptions there will be at least the same number of warships in service with the Royal Navy in 2025 as at present. However, the aggregate tonnage of the Royal Navy will have increased greatly due to the introduction of the aircraft carriers HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES. Due to the withdrawal from service of HMS GLEANER, an unarmed inshore survey vessel, the Royal Navy will have one fewer non-combat vessel that it does today.

Department for Work and Pensions

Families

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions the Social Justice Cabinet Committee is taking to monitor and support the implementation of the Family Test across government.

Baroness Altmann: The Social Justice Cabinet Committee is playing a crucial role by supporting cross government Family Policy priorities, and ensuring that the Family Test is applied consistently and appropriately on new policy.

Families

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the recommendations in Implementing the Family Test, a review of progress one year on by Relate, the Relationships Foundation and the Family and Childcare Trust.

Baroness Altmann: DWP welcome the Family Test, a review of progress one year on by Relate, the Relationships Foundation and the Family and Childcare Trust. We will consider the findings of the report in the next phase of our Government wide strategy to improve the embedding and implementation of the family test.

Families

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether final clearance for any Government policy has been denied due to a failure to complete a Family Test assessment.

Baroness Altmann: DWP takes the process of monitoring the application of the Family Test very seriously and we have and will challenge the clearance of policies that haven’t considered the Family Test.

Gender Recognition

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice trans individuals are given about how to manage the accuracy and maintain the integrity of their data on the Department for Work and Pensions database.

Lord Freud: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides its staff with information about providing services for transgender customers but does not provide information relating to the management of data accuracy or maintenance of data integrity specifically for transgender customers. DWP have a Personal Information Charter which informs all customers of the standards they can expect when we handle their personal information.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horses: Exports

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to control the live exports of horses from the UK that are falsely declared to be exported for leisure purposes but where the true intention is for slaughter and human consumption.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government is aware of concerns about horse exports and has been working closely with welfare charities on this issue and in particular on improving intelligence gathering. When reports are received by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) that horses are being exported other than for the declared purpose, or are being inappropriately transported, APHA will investigate and will take appropriate enforcement action. This may include suspending transporters.

Hedgehogs

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the trend in the size of the hedgehog population in England since 2000; and what is the reason for that trend.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ State of Britain’s Hedgehogs Report 2015 estimated a population of 1.55 million hedgehogs in England, Wales and Scotland in the 1990s. Since 2000, rural populations are thought to have declined by at least a half and urban populations by up to a third. The current population is estimated at around 1 million.The reasons for their decline are complex and include a number of factors including intensive agricultural practices (including loss of hedgerows), use of pesticides reducing availability of food, roads, a lack of available shelter in urban areas and restriction of movement and badgers which predate on hedgehogs and compete for their food.The Government supports efforts to encourage local communities to work together in supporting the hedgehog such as making our gardens more hedgehog friendly and more welcoming to wildlife in general.Working with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species the Government has recently published advice for homeowners in the form of five simple steps to make gardens more hedgehog friendly, from letting grassy areas grow wild to providing food and shelter.

Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 March (HL6286), what consideration they have given to the impact of technological change on the definition of electrical and electronic equipment specified in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 March (HL6286), what consideration they have given to the impact of the increased bundling together of computer hardware with operating systems and browsers on the definition of electrical and electronic equipment specified in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Electrical and electronic equipment in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is defined as that “which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly" and "equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields” below specified voltages. Whilst the Directive does provide for certain exclusions, the Government believes that the definition is already sufficiently broad to embrace technological change and computer hardware that incorporates browsers and operating systems.

Agriculture

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the concerns expressed by the National Farmers Union and the Country Land and Business Association regarding the prospective loss of funding and access to markets to British agriculture in the event of the UK leaving the EU; and whether they have planned any measures in such an event.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Circle Housing

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to ask the Social Housing Regulator to request data from the Circle Housing Group about the performance of Kier Gas in repairing or replacing faulty boilers in each week since the Group downgraded Kier Gas's governance rating.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: I refer the Noble Lady to my previous answer to her on 8 December (HL4002). The Social Housing Regulator is statutorily independent. The Department for Communities and Local Government cannot therefore direct the Regulator on this matter.

Homelessness: Greater London

Baroness Jowell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of people who are street homeless in London for each year since 2010.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million.This will include a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to tackle rough sleeping, and will build on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative, which saw two-thirds of rough sleepers in London come off the streets after a single night.DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping. These are available (the latest figures are attached) at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2015The GLA collects more detailed statistics on rough sleeping in London. These are available at: http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports  



Homelessness statistic
(PDF Document, 971.92 KB)

Local Government Finance

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they reconcile the additional financial burden placed on local authorities, such as those set out in the Housing and Planning Bill, with the level of financial support they provide to meet those costs.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The government requires policies not considered and funded as part of the multi-annual local government settlement process to be subject to new burdens assessments. New burdens assessments require departments to detail financial costs on local authorities from new legislation or regulation and provide funding to meet these costs.Measures in the Housing and Planning Bill will be subject to these assessments.

HM Treasury

Health Services: Per Capita Costs

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the public sector spend on health per head of population in real terms for each of the years from 1990–2015; and how in each of those years that compares with GDP per head.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The total UK Public Sector expenditure on health per head of population in real terms and GDP per head between the financial years 1990-91 and 2014-15 has been set out in the table below: Real per capita (2015 £)HealthGDP1990-9184819,6241991-9291119,3681992-9398019,5161993-941,02320,0501994-951,08520,7931995-961,10421,2481996-971,09321,7161997-981,11622,4211998-991,15123,0661999-001,19823,7802000-011,28024,4942001-021,38825,0472002-031,49125,6402003-041,63726,3582004-051,74826,7942005-061,82527,5212006-071,85727,9272007-081,91228,4492008-091,98627,4922009-102,07226,6052010-112,04726,8982011-122,02127,1582012-132,02227,2922013-142,04927,8012014-152,07428,361 The expenditure figures set out in this table are drawn from the HM Treasury Public Spending Statistics (PSS) publications. In addition to expenditure on services by the Department of Health, this includes health expenditure by other central departments, local government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Please Note:UK government expenditure on the health function is only available on a financial year basis.Health expenditure recording switches from a cash basis to an accruals basis in 1998-99Population is taken from the mid-year figure for each calendar year that falls in the respective financial year.

Landfill Communities Fund

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether waste operators can distribute Landfill Communities Fund monies directly to projects, or must do so through an environmental body.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Landfill operators can only distribute monies from the Landfilll Communities Fund to environmental bodies. In order to receive money directly from a landfill operator, a project would have to register as an environmental body with the scheme’s regulator, ENTRUST.

Capital Gains Tax

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people paid capital gains tax on personal possessions in each of the last five years, and what was the total amount of tax paid.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Information is not available on the number of people paying Capital Gains Tax on specific types of possession, or the total amount of tax paid on gains of specific type of possession. Capital Gains Tax payments are not separated into personal possessions. However, the Government publishes information about total amount of Capital Gains Tax paid each year and the total numbers of individuals accruing liabilities.

Government Securities

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of a vote to leave the EU on UK gilt auctions.

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of speculation around the EU referendum on UK gilt auctions.

Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average bid made by banks with official trader status in each gilt auction since May 2015.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The average amount bid by wholesale Gilt-edged Market Makers (GEMMs) at gilt auctions between 14 May 2015 and 7 April 2016 was £202.17 million per GEMM per auction. As the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said, the civil service is working to support the Government’s position that Britain is stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. Gilt auctions are expected to proceed as normal in the build up to the EU referendum, in line with UK Debt Management Office (DMO) plans published on 31 March 2016. As customary, the DMO will publish precise details of gilt auctions for July-September 2016 one month before the start of the quarter on 31 May 2016.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish an independent analysis of the economic forecasting record of the Office for Budget Responsibility, including an assessment of the accuracy of forecasting against free consensus expectations.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) already publish an assessment of the accuracy of their forecasts in their annual Forecast Evaluation Report (FER). This compares the latest outturn data for the economy and public finances with the OBR’s earlier forecasts, and aims to explain the differences. This assessment is required by the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act (BRNAA); this provides self-discipline for the OBR, and maintains transparency and accountability around their forecasting.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent their fiscal strategy is influenced by Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was established to introduce independence, greater transparency and credibility to the economic and fiscal forecasts on which the government’s fiscal policy is based. Since 2010, the government has used the OBR’s economic and fiscal forecasts as the official forecasts. The government sets its fiscal strategy independently of the OBR but the forecasts are used to inform decisions on fiscal policy.

EU Budget: Contributions

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 1 April (HL7086), what are the annual (1) gross, and (2) net, costs of the UK's contributions to the EU for each year from 2013 to 2015 inclusive, and why those figures were not provided in that answer.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The outturn figures for gross and net contributions to the EU Budget in the year’s 2013 and 2014 can be found in Table 3B, page 16, of European Union Finances 2015 (Cm 9167), which is easily available in the House library and on gov.uk. Equivalent figures for 2015 are not yet available. As shown in Table 3B of European Union Finances 2015 (Cm 9167), the UK’s gross and net contributions in 2013 and 2014 were: 2013: Gross €17.07 billion Net €10.76 billion (£9.13 billion)2014: Gross €14.07 billion Net €7.09 billion (£5.71 billion) Equivalent figures for 2015 are not yet available.

EU Budget: Contributions

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 1 April (HL7086), why the Office for National Statistics Pink Book cannot be used to establish the UK's gross and net contributions to the EU; what Government sources provide a more accurate picture, and why.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Data published in the Office for National Statistics Pink Book represent only those transactions that are administered by official bodies, in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 for the purposes of producing statistics on the UK’s balance of payments. These do not include all receipts from the EU. Table 3B, page 16, of European Union Finances 2015 (CM 9167) provides complete outturn figures, including receipts administered by public sector bodies and those received directly by beneficiaries. The difference between these, and other figures, are explained further in Annex B of the Treasury analysis of the long-run economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives.

Tax Avoidance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total amount of lost revenue to the United Kingdom from the tax avoidance of UK citizens revealed by the Panama Papers.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs does not have access to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ data, but are exploring every avenue, nationally and internationally, to obtain it, so they can pursue the dishonest minority who seek to hide and dodge their taxes.

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK citizens have been prosecuted for non-payment of taxes in the last 10 years; and how many of these were prosecuted for avoiding paying £1,000 or less.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the smallest amount of unpaid tax that has led to a criminal prosecution in the UK in the last 10 years.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The information is not held in the form requested.The smallest amount of revenue loss prevented in respect of individuals prosecuted between 2011/12 and 2014/15 is £162. The person prosecuted was a member of aircrew who attempted to bring 600 cigarettes into the UK without declaring them, thus attempting to evade the correct excise duty on them. Aircrew are deemed to hold privileged positions due to their unrestricted airport access and HM Revenue and Customs has a zero tolerance approach to prosecution should they not declare dutiable goods when entering the UK.

Corporation Tax

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to address the delays in dealing with applications for clearance under section 1044 of the Company Tax Act 2010 by HMRC in Newcastle due to a shortage of resources, in the light of the urgency of some of the outstanding cases.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HMRC must notify its decision on an application under section 1044 Corporation Tax Act 2010 within 30 days of its receipt. During the six months from October 2015 to March 2016, HMRC received 1105 clearance applications under section 1044. The average time taken to reply to these applications was 15 days. Decisions on over 95% of the applications were notified within the statutory time limit. HMRC monitors the number of clearance applications it receives in this area and the time taken to reply to them to ensure a consistent service.

Balance of Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on sterling of the trade gap.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: No assessment has been made of the impact on sterling of the trade gap.

Pay

Baroness Wilcox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the change in real earnings, calculated as nominal earnings growth minus inflation, over the last two years; and what was the change in 2008–10.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In the two years to Q4 2010, real total pay fell by 2.8%. In the last two years, real wages have now grown by 3.6%. Wage growth has outstripped inflation for 16 consecutive months, the longest period of real wage growth since 2008. The OBR forecast real wage growth to continue over the entire forecast period.

Direct Taxation

Baroness Wilcox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much someone earning (1) £15,000, and (2) £150,000, a year would have paid in direct taxation, including income tax and national insurance, in (a) 2009–10 and (b) 2015–16.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Someone earning £15,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £2,726 in 2009-10 and £1,713 in 2015-16. Someone earning £150,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £55,189 in 2009-10 and £59,914 in 2015-16. This is summarised in the following tables, which break down the liability by Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs): 1) £15,0002009-102015-16differenceIncome Tax£1,705£880-£825Employee NICs£1,021£833-£189Total tax£2,726£1,713-£1,014Net income £12,274£13,287£1,0142) £150,0002009-102015-16differenceIncome Tax£49,930£53,643£3,713Employee NICs£5,259£6,271£1,012Total tax£55,189£59,914£4,725Net income £94,811£90,086-£4,725  This assumes that the individual was born after 5 April 1948 (and therefore not receiving the Age-related Personal Allowance), is paying employee NICs (not contracted out), and has a gross income from pay only. The Income tax calculations assume no other allowances or deductions. The NICs is calculated on an annual basis which assumes a smooth distribution of the income across the year.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Oil: Industry

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to help revive the UK's oil industry.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: At the Budget, my rt. hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a radical £1bn package to support the North Sea Oil and Gas industry, including reductions to the headline rates of tax and targeted measures to encourage investment in exploration, infrastructure and late-life assets. This package will ensure the UK has one of the most competitive tax regimes for oil and gas in the world, safeguarding jobs and investment. The Budget measures build on the action plan the Prime Minister set out in January to help build a bridge to the future for the industry, which included:A £20m package of new investment in exploration, innovation and skills;A new Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas to coordinate the UK’s response to the oil price crash and focus on vital issues such as exports, skills and investment, and;Funding for the £250m City Deal Package for Aberdeen, which includes a new energy innovation centre to support exploiting remaining reserves. In addition, we have established the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and it is already helping industry to drive down costs and improve efficiencies. Subject to the will of parliament, the OGA will transition to a fully empowered, strong, independent regulator in summer 2016.

Cabinet Office

Charities: Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Israeli government organisations have been given charitable status in the UK.

Lord Bridges of Headley: In England and Wales the law requires charities to be independent in the way they operate and they must be set up with exclusively charitable purposes for the public benefit. This precludes from charitable status any organisations that are established to further the purposes of any non-charity, which would include a national government.Charity law is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the requirements there are similar.

London Underground: Floods

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Flood Resilience Review is considering the findings of London Underground’s flood risk review which identifies 85 stations, tunnels and shafts as at high risk of flooding.

Lord Bridges of Headley: As set out in evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on 13 April, the National Flood Resilience Review is looking across infrastructure in a number of sectors to identify those assets which the Government thinks need to be more resilient against extreme river or tidal floodingSeparately to the national review, London Underground is in the process of reviewing their own vulnerability to all forms of flooding: this includes river and coastal but also the risk of burst water mains, which can be a much bigger threat in an urban area. This work is primarily for London Underground to agree with Transport for London and the Mayor, but Department for Transport and Cabinet Office officials will stay abreast of the London Underground work to ensure it is coherent with the National Flood Resilience Review.

Department of Health

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5646), 14 March (HL6504) and 24 March (HL6955), what was the purpose of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) no longer placing lay summaries of human embryo research proposals on the HFEA website prior to consideration by the Licence Committee.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it is unable to provide information about this decision beyond that set out in the response to the Noble Lord on 24 March (HL6955). The HFEA’s Business Plan for 2016/17 commits the organisation to a review of the operational aspects of applications for research licences.

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October 2007 (WA101), by Lord Triesman on 12 November 2007 (WA1–2), by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 8 June 2015 (HL44) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5648), how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has rigorously checked that what is stated in centres’ lay summaries on its website about the purposes and likelihood of success of the research is realistic for both donors and the public, as explicitly recommended under "Key actions for HFEA" in the summary of the "Post Hwang Meeting" on 1 March 2006 that was published on the HFEA website; and how the currently stated aim of research licence R0152 "to improve outcomes of ART for the treatment of infertility" relates to any reasonably foreseeable applications of nuclear transfer that accord not only with the statutory tests but also with the originally stated purpose of the proposed research in the initial application for this particular licence.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that centres’ lay summaries are checked at inspection by the relevant HFEA inspector and by the HFEA Licence Committee. In the case of licence R0152, the lay summary was last approved on 15 July 2015 when the HFEA Licence Committee agreed to approve updates to the centre’s lay summary and the updates to the research objectives. The minutes note the committee was content that the revised objectives and lay summary were consistent with the activities and purposes for which the project was licensed.

Human Embryo Experiments

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Triesman on 12 November 2007 (WA1–2) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 March 2016 (HL7011), which of the successive lay summaries for research licence R0152 asserted a "need to derive stem-cell lines which are genetically similar to the recipient so they will not be rejected"; when the single embryonic stem cell (ESC) line produced in compliance with current standards and each of the other ESC lines were banked at the UK Stem Cell Bank; whether any of the aforementioned ESC lines were derived following any form of nuclear transfer or pronuclear transfer; if not, why the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) continued to permit the use of nuclear transfer under this licence when the originally stated objective remains unmet almost 12 years after the relevant licence was initially granted; what specific measures have been taken to strengthen the scrutiny of research applications at both the review of progress and renewal stages as recommended under "Key actions for HFEA" in the summary of the "Post Hwang Meeting" on 1 March 2006 that was published on the HFEA website; and how post-licensing scrutiny had been similarly strengthened as also recommended in the same document.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the "need to derive stem-cell lines which are genetically similar to the recipient so they will not be rejected" was last referred to in the lay summary submitted in an application for the renewal of a research licence in 2008. As stated in the response to the Noble Lord on 24 March (HL7011), one stem cell line from the research project R0152 is in preparation for depositing with the UK Stem Cell bank. HFEA licences do not specify time limits in which research objectives must be met and objectives can be up-dated or amended subject to approval by the Licence Committee. Progress of the research is taken into consideration at the renewal of a licence. Upon renewal, the centre’s progress report is sent to the peer reviewer who considers key questions around the necessity of the research. The HFEA’s scrutiny of research has evolved considerably over the last 10 years. Its current system involves scrutiny of the application by a team of inspectors; scrutiny by an external, independent peer reviewer; and scrutiny by the HFEA’s Licence Committee. In order to further support researchers, the HFEA’s Code of Practice includes a Guidance Note (22) specific to research and training and each centre has a nominated inspector through which post licencing scrutiny takes place. The McCracken report in 2013 did not highlight any concerns with the systems put in place by the HFEA to approve research.

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international scientific evidence concerning moderate alcohol consumption as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international scientific evidence showing that moderate alcohol consumption has protective effects to overall mortality compared to either abstinence or heavy consumption.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scientific evidence on which the updated guidance from the Chief Medical Officer concerning alcohol consumption, published in January, was based.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The alcohol guidelines review was undertaken by a group of independent scientific experts who were commissioned to report back to the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers and make recommendations on new low risk drinking guidelines. The Guidelines Development Group scrutinised all of the available evidence concerning alcohol consumption including moderate alcohol consumption and the protective effects to overall mortality. They set out their assessment of the systematic reviews in their report. The Alcohol Guidelines Review – Report from the Guidelines development group to the UK Chief Medical Officers is attached.  



Alcohol Guidelines Review
(PDF Document, 1.23 MB)

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria were used in selecting the members of the Guidelines Development Group who advised the Chief Medical Officer on the evidence base for the updated guidelines concerning alcohol consumption.

Lord Prior of Brampton: A group of 13 independent scientific experts were commissioned to report back to the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers and make recommendations on new low risk drinking guidelines. The members of the Guidelines Development Group were chosen according to the type of expertise they had and their individual ability.

Sexual Dysfunction

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for developing and updating clinical guidance on the treatment of men with erectile dysfunction in England.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has included guidance on erectile dysfunction in the following guidelines:- Chronic heart failure in adults: management (CG108) published in August 2010; - Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management (NG17) published in August 2015; and- Type 2 diabetes in adults: management (NG28) published in December 2015.Copies of these documents are attached.It is for NHS England to commission NICE to develop a specific clinical guideline on the management and treatment of erectile dysfunction. 



NG28 Guideline
(PDF Document, 853.37 KB)




NG17 Guideline
(PDF Document, 274.46 KB)




CG108 Guidance 
(PDF Document, 171.16 KB)

Meat: Imports

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in the light of the 2013 horsemeat scandal, what steps are being taken to tighten controls on imported meat and to increase random sampling of meat in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Robust import controls already exist for meat and meat products entering the European Union (EU) from non-EU countries. These consignments are considered to be of potential high risk to animal and public health therefore each consignment of meat must: - come from a country approved to export meat or meat products to the EU; - come from EU-approved premises; - be accompanied by animal health and public health certification;and - enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post (BIP) where veterinary checks are carried out (all consignments must also be pre-notified prior to arrival). Whilst the United Kingdom imports little in the way of processed meat[1] from non-EU (third) countries the Food Standards Agency (FSA) did undertake a two month sampling programme starting on the 4 March 2013 on bovine meat and meat products presented for import from third countries at UK borders to test for traces of horse or pig meat DNA; no horse or pig meat positives were found. The FSA concluded that the existing import controls allowed little room for fraud and did not require further tightening. Enforcement responsibility for food retail and hospitality sectors lies with local authorities. The FSA funds local authorities to take additional food samples against priorities set by FSA. The meat related priorities in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 are as set out in the following table. The FSA’s priorities are also used by local authorities to target sampling that they fund themselves.  YearSampling priorities2013/14- Composition criteria and labelling requirements for minced meat - Testing for the presence of undeclared meat species in meat and meat products - Labelling in terms of: meat content, added water, and hydrolysed proteins in chicken products/preparations (e.g. chicken breast fillets) – food service 2014/15- Composition and labelling of raw minced meat species: beef, lamb, pork, chicken and turkey mince samples - Raw meat species testing for the presence of undeclared meat species in meat and meat products covering retail, catering, wholesalers - Raw chicken portions/products, checking labelling in terms of: meat content, added water, and hydrolysed proteins2015/16- Minced meat composition (retail and wholesale), including speciation - Meat species substitution in food service and retail - Raw chicken products and preparations with added water, including checking whether there were proteins present from different meat species   [1] The 2013 horsemeat scandal centred on the intra EU trade in processed meat.

Meat: Fraud

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for food fraud in the form of meat substitution there were in each of the last three years.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Local authorities are responsible for prosecuting meat species substitution offences. Generally, these prosecutions are taken forward under regulations relating to the labelling and mis-description of food, rather than under fraud legislation. The Food Standards Agency has taken on the task of compiling a register of successful food law prosecutions and is just completing the first year of data collection on local authority food prosecutions. However, it does not hold definitive data on prosecutions for offences of this nature in the last three years.

Campylobacter

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle the increase in human campylobacter cases, caught from infected poultry, which are proving to be resistant to the key antibiotic ciprofloxacin.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern and a global challenge. The United Kingdom Government has established a 5 year AMR strategy (2013-2018) which sets out our actions to slow the development and spread of AMR. A copy of the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 to 2018 is attached. The Government supports industry initiatives on the responsible use of antibiotics, such as those implemented by the British Poultry Council, who introduced a voluntary ban on the use of cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones in poultry in January 2012. This action will in the long-term help reduce the development of resistance in bacteria including campylobacter in poultry. Campylobacter is the leading cause of infectious intestinal disease in people in the UK and poultry meat is considered to be the main source of these infections. To address this, the Food Standards Agency has worked closely with industry in reducing campylobacter levels in chicken and is tackling this issue throughout the food chain; this has included improved biosecurity measures on farm, interventions such as blast surface chilling or additional heat steps during processing, the introduction of leak-proof packaging at retail and advice for consumers on safe handling of raw chickens within the home. These approaches are expected to reduce the number of campylobacter infections in humans.  



AMR Strategy
(PDF Document, 435.92 KB)

Pharmacy

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the principal criteria which must be addressed by pharmacies in the retail sector when they provide "information governance assurances" to the NHS annually.

Lord Prior of Brampton: All National Health Service providers, including community pharmacies, are required to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis. These assurances are provided through completion of an online assessment tool, the NHS Information Governance Toolkit. Community pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors currently have to assess themselves against the following requirements: Information Governance Management- Responsibility for Information Governance has been assigned to an appropriate member, or members, of staff;- There is an information governance policy that addresses the overall requirements of information governance;- All contracts (staff, contractor and third party) contain clauses that clearly identify information governance responsibilities; and- All staff members are provided with appropriate training on information governance requirements. Confidentiality and Data Protection Assurance- All person identifiable data processed outside of the United Kingdom complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Department of Health guidelines;- Consent is appropriately sought before personal information is used in ways that do not directly contribute to the delivery of care services and objections to the disclosure of confidential personal information are appropriately respected;- There is a publicly available and easy to understand information leaflet that informs patients/service users how their information is used, who may have access to that information, and their own rights to see and obtain copies of their records; and- There is a confidentiality code of conduct that provides staff with clear guidance on the disclosure of personal information. Information Security Assurance- Monitoring and enforcement processes are in place to ensure NHS national application Smartcard users comply with the terms and conditions of use;- There is an information asset register that includes all key information, software, hardware and services;- Unauthorised access to the premises, equipment, records and other assets is prevented;- The use of mobile computing systems is controlled, monitored and audited to ensure their correct operation and to prevent unauthorised access;- There are documented plans and procedures to support business continuity in the event of power failures, system failures, natural disasters and other disruptions;- There are documented incident management and reporting procedures;- There are appropriate procedures in place to manage access to computer-based information systems; and- All transfers of hardcopy and digital personal and sensitive information have been identified, mapped and risk assessed; technical and organisational measures adequately secure these transfers.

Health

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the 2016 Institute of Economic Affairs Nanny State Index suggesting that the UK is the third worst country in terms of regulation of lifestyle choices, they will take action to reduce the influence of government on the private lives and lifestyles of the population.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government seeks to develop public health policies proportionate to the risks and or harms to health, supporting economic development. For example, smoking is the biggest preventable cause of ill health and death in England and a significant cause of health inequalities in the United Kingdom. All smoking is addictive and harmful to health. Around half of all regular smokers are eventually killed by a smoking-related illness, accounting for almost 80,000 deaths in England each year. There are significant costs to society in terms of premature illness and death and to the economic prosperity of individuals and communities.